The chief of the Black Hawk tribe, Otar, prepared to depart as soon as the messenger left.
If there really was a way to escape the tundra, he had to see it with his own eyes.
Since there had been occasional exchanges with the Blue Dragon tribe, the route wasn’t difficult.
However, Otar was forced to stop at the entrance due to a reception unlike the usual.
“Please wait a moment. The king is not yet ready to receive guests.”
At that unilateral notice, Otar and his warriors frowned. This was not just any messenger—it was a chief of another tribe who had come in person.
And yet, instead of receiving them, they were simply told to wait until everything was ready.
“The authority of the Blue Dragon tribe is greater than I had heard. If the preparations are going to take so long, I’d rather return to my tribe and rest. Is there a problem with that?”
Otar threw out that line full of intent at the warrior who had come to meet them.
It was a clear warning—if they made a chief wait, there would be no negotiation. However, the warrior nodded without flinching.
“If that’s what you wish, go ahead.”
“What?”
“If you decide to leave now, we won’t stop you. But the consequences will fall entirely on the chief of the Black Hawk tribe.”
“Damn…!”
The tone, bordering on arrogance, made one of the warriors reach for his weapon.
Even in a situation on the verge of explosion, the opposing side remained surprisingly calm.
Noticing how strange that calm was, Otar stopped his own warrior and spoke.
“Forgive me. I’m tense and spoke out of turn. We’ll wait, so could you show us to lodging?”
“…Very well.”
At that quick change in attitude, the warrior from the Blue Dragon tribe looked slightly surprised, but guided Otar without objection to the lodging.
It was a place built with considerable care, not inferior to the chief’s own quarters.
Once Otar settled in, the warrior left saying they would be called when the time came.
With a dry thud, the lodging door closed. Then, the warriors who had been holding back their anger suddenly stood up.
“Chief, why did you allow such disrespect?”
“Even if it’s the Blue Dragon tribe, this is too much!”
“Leave it to me! I’ll take full responsibility and crush them with my axe!”
They hadn’t just insulted a warrior—they had slighted the chief himself. That was like belittling the entire tribe, so their fury was inevitable.
However, instead of becoming agitated, Otar wore an even calmer expression.
“No. Let’s watch a little longer. Something’s off.”
“Off? What besides the fact that they rely solely on the strength of that guy calling himself king?”
“That, of course, as well. But as you all know, the power to stop the blizzard is a weapon that can only be used once. After leaving this tundra, that authority becomes worthless.”
To someone who’s fallen into a pit with no way out, a rope is priceless. But once you stand on solid ground, that rope loses its value.
The same applied to the so-called authority of the Blue Dragon chief.
No matter how much he could control the blizzard, once outside the tundra, there would be no reason to rely on it.
“I thought they were demanding a pledge of loyalty to secure a response before leaving the tundra. Once the vow was made, even if the power became useless, the entire tribe would remain bound to him.”
“So now you think that’s not the case?”
“I don’t know.”
Even for Otar, it was hard to answer. There was still the possibility that this was all just a bluff by the Blue Dragon tribe.
They more than anyone knew the threat from that authority was one-time only.
But for just a bluff, the warrior’s expression had been far too calm.
‘Without absolute faith that everything will go according to the king’s will, they couldn’t display such composure.’
Was there something more beyond that authority? After thinking for a while, Otar sighed and said,
“For now, let’s watch. In time, we’ll see what they’re relying on to act this way.”
If what they were relying on turned out to be nothing significant, then the Black Hawk tribe would have been fooled by a simple bluff.
But if, on the contrary, the Blue Dragon tribe was hiding a power strong enough to support that confidence—
Then the tribe that submitted to the king without resistance would be the victor—the most favored among all the tribes in the new land.
***
“His Majesty has finished the preparations.”
The summons from the Blue Dragon tribe for Otar arrived only at dusk. Tired of waiting, Otar let out a sigh and stood up.
“Finally, I’ll see the face of this king.”
“I beg you not to be discourteous. He is the king. He is not someone you, being a tribe chief, can compare yourself to.”
“…”
At those words, Otar clicked his tongue.
That warrior must have also lived decades in the tundra and therefore knew the inter-tribal relationships well.
Even so, he placed the so-called king above a chief with complete ease, showing no concern for the consequences of his words.
“Just asking, but… did you speak like this to the other chiefs too?”
“Yes.”
“And they just accepted it?”
“So far, yes.”
“So far? Am I not the only chief who came to see this king?”
“To be exact, all of them are on their way. The king wished to see you all together.”
“…!”
Otar had to restrain the immediate urge to cut the warrior in two.
So that excuse about the king not being ready was just a trick to make them wait until all the chiefs arrived? He planned to line them up before him, not as equals, but as future subjects to be compared?
‘Damn arrogant bastard…’
Even if he had proclaimed himself king, Otar believed that after taking the position of chief, he’d at least have some common sense.
But now it seemed clear he was a lunatic who genuinely believed he was a king.
Fury boiled in his chest, but he couldn’t ruin everything after coming this far. Holding his breath, Otar glared at the warrior.
“Pray that your king comes out unharmed. I can endure this humiliation, but the other chiefs won’t be so patient.”
“No matter how angry a creature gets, it’s still just a creature. Before a dragon, it’s nothing but food.”
“Well… Now I’m really curious. What the hell did you see in this king to talk like that?”
“When you see him in person, you’ll understand naturally. Ah, just in time. They’ve all arrived.”
At those words, Otar raised his head and saw the chiefs of the various tribes approaching from all directions.
They too seemed to have only just realized the situation, as their faces were all flushed, barely holding in their anger.
After guiding them, the Blue Dragon tribe warriors bowed their heads to the chiefs, who were on the verge of exploding.
“Go ahead. You won’t be entering one by one, but all together.”
“Damn it! Fine, let’s see this so-called king’s face already.”
The first to curse was Broindolf, chief of the Red Wolf tribe. It seemed he had reached his limit, as he strode forward without concern for courtesy.
The Blue Dragon warriors hesitated for a moment but did not try to stop him.
Boom!
“Come out, you damned usurper! Who do you think you are to dare—!”
Broindolf threw the doors open, ready to start a fight at any moment, but froze upon seeing the person inside.
“…A child?”
To be precise, he wasn’t exactly a child anymore, but rather a young man.
In the Empire, he’d already be considered a full adult, but in the tundra, his body two heads shorter than average and his beardless face made him seem like a kid in the eyes of the tribes.
Even so, the young man was unfazed by the comment and smirked disdainfully at Broindolf.
“And what are you standing there for? If you’re here, stop acting like a fool and sit down.”
***
The five chiefs who entered the residence were speechless upon seeing Lucian seated in the main seat.
They had imagined a battle-hardened warrior or a cunning strategist—not a youth who had barely started growing facial hair.
But the most unsettling thing was his attitude.
“Thanks for coming all this way. You all move pretty quickly. I’m glad—this will be over soon.”
“…”
“First, step forward one by one and introduce yourselves. I must know those who will be under my command.”
Otar barely managed to stifle an incredulous laugh. They hadn’t even sworn loyalty yet, and he was already speaking as if they were his subordinates.
“What kind of joke is this? A brat who hasn’t even lost his fuzz calling himself king? Are you mocking us?”
Broindolf, the same one who had marched in first, couldn’t hold back anymore and stood up with a shout. Lucian looked at him as if confused.
“How strange. I’m sure you said that if I stopped the blizzard, all five of you would swear loyalty. Are you going back on your word now?”
“I thought you were a warrior! If you were going to dethrone the former chief Ivar, I expected someone stronger than him! But this weakling—!”
“Weakling?”
Lucian smiled, baring his teeth like a wild beast. At the same time, dense mana began to pour out of him in thick strands.
A wave of suffocating heat swept through the room, making Broindolf instinctively take a step back.
“The Dragon’s Blessing?”
“It’s still too early to be surprised.”
The more Lucian’s smile deepened, the denser the mana that flowed from his body became.
That energy, once like a mirage, transformed into a waterfall, to the point that even breathing in the room became nearly impossible.
The five chiefs raised their own power to endure it, but they could barely stay conscious.
“Wh-what is thi—?!”
None of them could even finish cursing. A single slip in breathing made them feel as if they’d be crushed and die from suffocation.
The pressure of the mana kept rising endlessly until not only breathing but even opening their eyes became torture.
Crack, crunch.
The sound of wood breaking echoed clearly in the ears of the five chiefs.
Some furniture couldn’t withstand the pressure and warped. Soon after, even the floor began to creak, and cold sweat beaded on Otar’s forehead.
‘Damn it. If someone makes a wrong move here, we all die.’
The Dragon’s Blessing could become, depending on how it was used, a sharp storm or a crushing boulder.
As long as the king only increased the density, like now, they could barely endure.
But if he ever chose to turn that boulder into a storm—
Not only would the room explode entirely, but everyone present would be shredded to pieces.
Crack, crunch.
The floor started to sink little by little, and the bodies of the five chiefs wobbled.
Though they could collapse pathetically at any moment, none of them could move.
Breathing had been impossible for a while now; the only thing they could do was endure, hoping not to be crushed.
Just when Otar was about to lose consciousness and fall with his eyes rolling back, the magical pressure vanished all at once, as if washed away.
“Hah… hah!”
“Huff…!”
Freed from the oppression, the five chiefs gasped desperately for air. Never had a single breath felt so precious.
When they finally regained a bit of composure and began to react, a sharp voice cut through them.
“Repeat it. Who did you say was the weakling?”
At the king’s piercing voice, the five chiefs froze completely.
____
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